Beyond developmentalism in Tanzania

Abstract

Political analysis in the African context is generally associated with issues concerning development. And an evaluation of a country's political system or situation is often equated with the success, or lack thereof, of its ‘development strategy’. Deeply entangled in the development debate are questions pertaining to the nature of ‘the African State’. Many contending theories on the ‘African state’ exist, many of which were developed, explicitly or implicitly, to explain the Tanzanian case. Most of these theories are a variety of ‘political economy’, concerned about assigning a certain class character or function to the state. To what extent does this mode of analysis shed light on the various African political systems? Numerous scholars have accused African states of reaching too far, too fast and achieving too little. It will be suggested here that the same scholars might themselves be subject to the same criticism.